Implantable repair fabrics are employed by surgeons for soft tissue repair and reconstruction, including the repair of anatomical defects such as soft tissue and muscle wall defects. The fabric is typically sutured, stapled, tacked, or otherwise provisionally anchored in place over, under or within the defect. Tissue integration with the fabric, such as tissue ingrowth into and/or along the mesh fabric, eventually completes the repair.
Soft tissue and muscle wall defect repairs may be accomplished using various surgical techniques, including open, laparoscopic and hybrid (e.g., Kugel procedure) techniques. During open procedures, a repair fabric is placed through a relatively large incision made in the abdominal wall and layers of tissue and then the defect is filled or covered with the repair fabric. During laparoscopic and hybrid procedures, the fabric may be collapsed, such as by rolling or folding, into a reduced configuration for entry into a subject, either directly through a comparatively smaller incision or through a slender laparoscopic cannula that is placed through the incision.
Various repair fabrics are known and used for repairing soft tissue and muscle wall defects. BARD MESH and VISILEX, available from C.R Bard, are examples of implantable fabrics that have been successfully used in soft tissue and muscle wall repair. Such fabrics are fabricated from polypropylene monofilaments that are knitted into meshes having pores or interstices that promote tissue ingrowth and integration with the fabric.
Scar tissue may form about a repair fabric into a scar plate as tissue ingrowth occurs. The volume and rigidity of the scar plate that forms about the fabric may be affected by various factors, including the amount of foreign material introduced into a patient by the fabric.
It is an object of the invention to provide a prosthetic repair fabric for repair of soft tissue and muscle wall defects.